Automobile jack



2 Sheets-Sheet L Q@ fw.

ATTORNYS.

March 5, 1946.

.L M. TURNER AUTOMOBILE JACK Filed Jan. 25, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 @gif52 Miam@ BY fifa/5w.

ATTORNEYS.

a designated jack. y

Patented'Mar. 5, 1946 UNITED sT-Ares lPisiizin oFFlcE Applicationialllalagcllial N0. 473,515 i l y. A.

My invention relates to automobile jacks, and moreparticularly tothetype in which individual jacks are provided for the wheels,'withsuitable connections to a motive source and controls in the driverscompartment. Various developments particularly along hydraulic lines arerepresented in the prior art, but many of these are unduly complicatedandtherefore costly to install. Moreover, a hydraulic system forautomobile jack operation is generally considered a separate apparatusor installation, which presents the problem of application to existingautomobiles or the inclusion of a considerable amount of extra materialsin new cars. l

In the light of the above phases of the construction and application ofa hydraulic jack system, it is my main object to apply such a systemnotby means of vseparate equipment or installation, but by largelyincluding the jack system in the standard hydraulic brake system of thecar.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the brakesof the car may be locked preliminary to the raising of a designated Yjack, in order that no inuence to upset the jack may arise.

A still further object of the invention is to lprovide means whereby apumping action ofthe regular brake pedal may procure the raising ofAnother object of the invention isl to largely retain the automobilebraking system as a carrier or conduit forthe jack-operation medium,only adding branch leads from the braking system to the individual jackscarried alongside the wheels. y

An additional object of the invention is to design the jack system foroperation in common with the braking system by utilizing the brakingfluid as a motive medium for both the braking and jacking functions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a system of handycontrols which may be easily set or actuated to connect the jackingapparatus into the braking system or disconnect the same therefrom.

An important object of the invention is to design the noveljacking'apparatus with parts which constitute few and simple additionsto the standard braking system.

l With the above objects in view, andany others which may suggestthemselves from the description to follow, a better understanding of theinvention may be had by reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 is a plan view of the comprehensive braking and jackingsystem;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section of a brake-conl trolling valve taken onthe line 2-2 of Figure 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan section of ajackcontrolling valve occurring in proximity to each jack unit on Fig. 8is a left-hand side view of the showing in Figure 7. I

In accordance with the foregoing, specific reference to the drawingsindicates an outline of a typical automobile chassis at I5, the Wheelsthereof being shown at I6, the stationary brake plates at Il, thedash atI8, the instrument b'oard at I9, and the brake pedal at 20. As iscustomary, a rod 2I from the brakev pedal operates the brake cylinder 22from which a main 23 extends to communicate with a longitudinal conduit24 leading from front to rear, the ends of the conduit beingsupplemented by hose sections 25 leading to the mechanism carried bytherelated brake plates Il at one side of the car. The conduit 24 extendstoward the lopposite side of the car with branches 26 which are'supplemented by l other side of the car.

Since the improved jack system utilizes the braking fluid as a motivesource, the brake conduits are tapped to branch off to the individualjack units of the wheels. One such unit is essentially in the form of avertical cylinder 28 which is hung pivotally from a side pin 29 carriedby each brake plate Il, the pin being reinforced by a bracket formation.30. As the cylinder 28 is designed to receive the iiuid from the brakingconduits, the latterare formed with fittings of T or cross types 3|before the hose connections 25 and 21 to provide outlets into valvevchambers 32. These extend longitudinally ofthe car, and the forward endsof the pair in front are lextended with hose sections 33 to connect withthe front cylinders 28, while the rear ends of the valve chambers inback are connected with similar hose lengths 34 to the back cylinders28.

It is notedthat the jacks or cylinders'are hung to the rear of thecenter regions of. the plates I1. This is to place the jacks out of theway.v The out strain or the hazard of collapse.

contains a vertical rod 35 formed with a top plunger 36 and extendingthrough the bottom of the cylinder 28 to terminate with a bottom orground plate 31. It is understood that iluid under pressure which entersinto thel top of the cylinder 28 will have the effect of extending theplunger downwardly and raising the particular wheel; and a compressionspring 38 in the cylinder serves to raise the plunger when the pressureof the fluid has been relieved, whereby to restore the jack to theoriginal position and lower the wheel. Since it has been mentioned thatthe brakes of the car are locked preliminary to the jacking function, th-jacks 28 need not be secured laterally. Thus, by simply depending fromits pivot, each jack is vertical when it meets the ground, and thelocked condition of the wheelsl permits it to undergo the raisingoperation with- Further, the pivoting of the jacks enables theml toyield in rearward directions in case they should meet road obstacleswhile the car is in motion. However, in order that the jacks may notoscillate or become noisy while the car is in motion, a suitable devicesuch as a draw spring 39 and stop pin 40 maybe provided in front tonormally hold each jack stationary.

The valve chambers 32 essentially .serve as u transfer means for thefluid from the braking system into the'individual jack-hose sections 33and 34. Since the braking system is almost constantly in use, while theneed for a jacking operation is very infrequent, it follows that passageof the fluid into the hose sections 33 and 34 must be normally blocked.For this reason, each of the chambers 32 contains a valve 4| which isheld y normally closed by a spring 42 to block communi- Y cation fromthe related fitting 3| .into the particular hose section 33l or 34; andonly a pulling vor 'withdrawing action of the valve 4| will open thepassage into the hose section. -A poppet type of valve has beenillustrated, but a ball-type orvany other which will perform thedescribed function may be chosen for the purpose.

The opening of a designated one of the four valves 4| is an indicationthat the braking iluid is intended to operate the related jack. Forpurposes of convenience, the selective control of the valves is centeredin front of the instrument :board I9, where a suitable panel 43 ismounted to present fouractuating buttons 44 within easy reach of thedriver. As indicated in Figure 5, these buttons have shanks 45 withright-hand threads 46 designed to cause the withdrawing motion of theShanks when the buttons are turned in a counter-clockwise direction. Theshanks 45- make swivel connections with piano wire or cable leads 41which extend to the various valves 4| and are preferably encased inflexible conduits 48. Thus, with the buttons 44 properly marked, theopening of achosen valve may be easily accomplished as mentioned; anditis understood that the valve will close by the force of its springwhen the button is rotated in the opposite direction.r

In the operation of Vthe standard hydraulic brake, the fluid is sentoutof the brake cylinder under pressure to branch off to the brake units ofthe wheels. Since the brake system must be ready for service at alltimes. it is essential that the line from the brake cylinder be keptopen for the system to function as stated. I have inserted a valvehousing 49 in the conduit 23 which contains a valve 50 backed by aspring 5I. The valve is normally positioned withdrawn or open, asindicated in Figure 2, this condition being maintained by an actuatingbutton 52 on the panel 43 through a 'piano wire or cable connection. 53encased in a conduit 54. The button 52 is designed along the lines ofthe buttons 44,

except that its shank 55 has a left-hand thread of the valve 5|.

56. Thus, the counter-clockwise rotation of the button 52 will feeditsshank in a forward direction and cause the spring 5| tol close the valve50.

During the normal operation of the car, it is assumed that all theactuating buttons are positioned at the extreme of their clockwiserotations, which may be evident on inspection or from suitable markingson the buttons or panel as the choice of the designer or manufacturermay dictate. To put a jack into operation, it is ilrst necessary toactuate the button 52 with the elect of closing the valve 5|).` Theclosing of this valve does not permanently block the progress of thebraking fluid from the cylinder 22 when the brake pedal is pressed, asthe valve will then operate as a check-valve due' through the elongatedlinks, or other lost motionconnection 53a, Sla, between piano wire 53and the stem Now, a selected one of the buttons 44 is also rotated tosecure an outlet for the brake fluid into a. chosen jack. Now the brakepedal is pumped a number of times in order to build up the volume ofbrake iluid in the brake conduits and force the same into the hoseconnection 33 or 34--and 'the related jack cylinder. As this action willrequire additional brake fluid, a reservoir tank 51 of the same ismounted on the forward side of the dash I8 and connects with the top ofthe brake cylinder by means of a pipe 58. Thus, when the pumping of thebrake pedal is no longer possible, the indication is that the brakefluid has been forced to lock all the brakes and fully extend theplunger 35 of the chosen jack, lifting the particular wheel. When thefunction of the jack is over, it is first necessary to turn the button62 back-in a clockwise direction-which action will withdraw the valve 50to the normal position indicated in Figure 2. This will relieve thepressure of the fluid in the conduits and jack, so that the fluid willback up into the brake cylinder 22 and the reservoir tank 51; and thisaction will be expedited by the expansion of the jack spring 38 whichacts to raise the plunger 36, forcing the fluid out of the jack and,incidentally, lowering the wheel. Now the selected button 44 is actuatedin the same way as the previous button 52 in order to close the valve`4| of the affected jack 'and block the brake iluid from reaching thejack during the normal opera-tion of the car.

While the operation of the improved jack system has been described inrespect to a single jacking operation to raise a chosen Wheel of thecar, it is also possible to utilize the system in other respects. Thus,by simply actuating the button 52 and giving the brake pedal one push,all the'wheel `brakes become locked, so that the car cannot b'e rolledor pushed away from a parking place; also, in case an attempt is made to'steal the car by hoisting either end froml a towing truck, the groundwheels will drag, indicating an unusual condition. Further, the sysuseof the car is again desired, it is only necessary tovrelease the button52, which will permit the iluid to return to the brake cylinder 22 andreservoir 51. To facilitate this, brake pedal 20 is operated tocause'valve 50 to open to relieve back pressure at the time button l2 isoperated. Then thevalves 4I may bel closed through the use oi buttonsIl. The car is then ready for. use inthe ordinary manner. f

It will be evident from the above description that I have provided ajack system which is not a separate equipment, but an extension of theregular. hydraulic braking system of the car. Thus, this system is onlyextended ordeveloped in limited respects without undue complications orin any way prejudicing or impairing the action of the braking function.'The parts entering into theinstallation are few and simple, and thedevelopment for the jacking purpose is not materially visible ornoticeable on the car. Yet, thebeneilt of the highly desirableindividual and automatic automobile jack is gained and is posv sible ofbeing made standard equipment in new cars or installed as accessoryequipment in existing ones. The actuating mechanism o! the buttons has-been presented as a simple assembly, but it is apparent that othermeans might be devised to exercisethe control of the valves in the samemanner. It is also possible that some means could be devised to keep thejacks swung up in a horizontal position while not in use and to havethem lowered into the pendent positions when to be used, but devices onthisv cation between the respective leads and branches.

vspecific lines, various minor changes or refinements may be madetherein without departing comprising a jack unit for each wheel andopermg'jampury the contents of the leads to the extentl advantage,althougha significant attribute o! the present system is the simplicityof the hand controls and the mere use of the'brake pedal to induce thejacking operation. Finally, it is conceivable that the presentdevelopment, due to its simplicity of constructionv and application, maybe produced and made available to the motoring public at fairly lowcost.

While Ihave described the invention along from its principle, and Idesire to consider all such changes and rennements as coming within Iclaim:

A hydraulic wheel jacking system for automobiles having a brake pedalcontrolled iluid supply cylinder, a conduit leading therefrom, hydraulicpressure leads from said conduit to the brakes;

able by iluid pressure, a branch from each of said leads to 'thecorrespondingly located Jack unit, a check valve in said supply cylinderconduit, means tending to maintain said valve seated but yielding toadmit of opening of the valve under pressure from the direction of saidsupply cylinder, manually operable retaining means for holding saidvalve open against 'the action of said yielding means, said check valve'controlling the supply to said Vleads and operable by a pumping actiono! the automobile brake pedal to o! supplying a selected jack unit, andmanually controlled valve means for establishing communi- JOHN M.TURNER.

